Cosworth linked with dual engine F1 solution Cosworth linked with dual engine F1 solution | FORMULA 1 news | Motorsport.com
The minnows will be allowed to run cheaper engines of the same performance? Won't it will disincentivize the big guys and their mega budgets? Or is that the idea?
I think you get the gist of that.If teams can run simpler engines at a quarter of the cost with matching performance, the "constructors" inside the Strategy Group will find they shot themselves in the foot by insisting on a complex power unit formula to be relevant. I would guess that Toro Rosso, Force India, Sauber, Manor and possibly Lotus would jump at the opportunity to switch to a cheaper engine. Where would that leave Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari if they cannot sell their engines and recoup some of the cost?
The big budget teams will throw $$$ into whichever format promises better performance, if that happens to be the minnow spec, its....same game all over.
So, do you think that Mercedes and Ferrari would put Cosworth engines in their cars? Beside, the new engine formula may be allowed only for teams that don't make their own engines.
Just one simple question: If, as Bernie claims in the article - it really would be possible to make competitive engines at a much lower cost than the current formula - then WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST MAKE THE CURRENT FORMULA TO THOSE STANDARDS IN THE FIRST PLACE?
IF the cheaper engines have parity as proposed I see no place in F1 for the automakers. Will that include the "new" Ferrari? Could happen.
Because MB and Renault wanted a commercially relevant formula and Bernie was blinded by their gold. Some of us called it foolish at the time but...
OK - a second simple question: THEN WHY NOT NOW GO AHEAD AND ADMIT YOU MADE THE MISTAKE, CORRECT THE ENGINE RULES TO ONE STANDARD (AND ONE ONLY) AND LET EVERYBODY DEVELOP TO THAT STANDARD? What is being proposed here sounds like special rules for Cosworth and continued restrictive rules for everybody else.
People who make mistakes rarely admit to them; mostly when it involves changing all their pet projects to remedy to the problem. The automakers wanted to introdude "relevance" to F1, showcase their hybrid systems, display their energy recovery systems, as a mean to advertise their technology. They are not going to throw everything away at once, even if it's proven disastrous for F1. F1 isn't their core business; selling road cars is. Not to forget that it's carmakers who made the rules in the first place!
This is what happens when one constituency holds a veto. Talk of even just non player Renault leaving the sport causes dire talk. If MB were to take their ball and go home the sport would be unsustainable. Love them or hate them Balestre's and Mosley's FIA wouldn't ceded authority like this. Sell TV rights for a song sure, but sell the entire store? No.
Me too. I started thinking about our old pal TV Tommy Ivo and his multi engined dragsters. Image Unavailable, Please Login
The basic premise that brought F1 this hideously expensive and unsatisfying engine formula is flawed. The notion that manufacturer who produce F1 engines/PUs, of which there are only 3, will sell more cars because the type of engine/PU is "relevant" to production cars is a joke. Is some Franc sitting in Reims going to say to himself, " I think I'll buy a Clio rather than an Audi A3 Diesel because Renault makes the power unit that propels Toro Rosso, even though it is nothing like the engine in the Clio." Ferrari owners aren't compelled to buy a Ferrari because they are drooling over MGUs and lithium ion batteries. Those guys are more likely to buy a Tesla. Even Merc buyers don't get much benefit from anything happening in the back of Lewis' car. Any potential buyers of cars powered by Mercedes, Renault or Ferrari engines are far more likely to be swayed by the number of wins a car with one of those engines in it has rather than the technology under the engine cover. So what's it all about? I think the whole scheme was dreamed up by Merc to give them and advantage both technically and financially. Technically, because they felt they understood how to make such power units work, and the rules were written to make catching up very difficult (fortunately that has been changed). Financially, because they knew that the high costs of the PUs would ruin the chances of the independent teams, if it didn't run them out of the sport all together. Why Ferrari agreed, I have no idea. And Renault must be seriously wondering why they jumped in the pool at all. If F1 is going to change the formula, then they need to allow every manufacturer decide which path they will follow. Bernie's idiotic statement, "I'm saying we'll leave everything as it is for the constructors. Don't touch it.", guarantees a two tiered series. Does that include Renault? They are technically not a constructor. Only Merc and Ferrari are constructors who make PUs. Maybe Renault would like to go back to V8s or V10s along with Cosworth. If the "alternate" engines out perform the PUs of Merc and Ferrari, there will be hell to pay. Would Mercedes quit F1 if they were locked into using a very expensive PU that regularly got whipped by a Lotus Cosworth? What a mess!
I think it's very wrong to say that. Mercedes was just part of a number of engine manufacturers (some already in F1, and some potentially interested to enter) that reached a compromise about the next generation of power unit. These manufacturers were given the green light to increase their hybrid and energy recovery system by the FIA, and asked to write the rule book themselves. They were interested in technologies "relevant" to their products. V6 configuration was adopted although some wanted 4 cylinders, other V8. But the technical rules were more of less the fruits of deliberations from the Strategy Group, with input from outsiders like Honda, VW, etc.. and accepted by the FIA. To see this a plot by Mercedes because they made a better power unit is rather simplistic. The others have just to catch up.
Exactly. Though it sucks to be on the team that has to catch up, truth be told Merc just did a better job of development and beat everyone else out of the gate.
